How Far?
by Ms Monypeny
Summary: A/U Yaten/Minako When the woman Yaten has been infatuated with since he can remember dies, can Minako cure his heart? FINISHED!
1. Part I Death of a Tenshi

A little introduction for this fic: This is an A/U Yaten/Minako fic.  The chapters are probably going to be shorter than the ones I usually write so that I can get them out more quickly.  I realized my free time growing increasingly shorter while writing 'Part of Me' and didn't want to leave gaping holes of time between chapters again.  So gomen and please forgive me. 

'How Far…'

Part I  

The road was almost completely blocked, an unusual sight for such an early hour of the morning.  Daylight had not yet broken over the tops of the city buildings allowing just enough darkness for the flashes of the police and ambulance lights to dance along the adjacent walls.  This, unfortunately, was a sight Yaten was too familiar with.

"Yaten!"  A surly voice called from behind one of the city patrol cars.  "Over here!"  A large hand followed the voice, waving high above the heads of the people scurrying about. 

Still with his hands in his pockets, Yaten casually made his way through the maze of police and press.  As he drew nearer to the man who had been calling him before he noticed the dark stain of blood near his feet.  The object his eyes sought for came clearly into view as he rounded the police car, removing one hand from his pocket he withdrew a clean white handkerchief.  

"Poor bastard's been laying here since well past midnight."  The man spoke again, this time a little more quietly.  He was a portly man, by far too short for the weight he carried, with a thick mustache.  "Ming's shop owner found him this way and notified us."

Yaten's jade green eyes darted around from the faces of the on-lookers.  None of them were drawn too close to the body, which he could only assume was giving off one hell of a stench, hence his handkerchief.  "A mugging to draw the attention of so many…"  Yaten trailed off.

This was Tokyo, and muggings ending in death were not too entirely uncommon.  To draw such a crowd of people usually meant that the death had been so savage and brutal or that the victim was some one of great importance.  The crowd that gathered here today was here for exactly one of those reasons.

A few flashes from a news reporter illuminated the mangled body, casting odd shadows amongst it.  A grimacing moan escaped the larger man's mouth as he watched Yaten encircle the body.  "Do you think there's even enough left for you to see?"  He asked of Yaten, a skeptical expression masking his features.

Both feet of the victim had been bound, one shoe was missing.  There were strips of cloth missing from his trousers, and his shirt had all but been clean ripped from his body.  His arms were bent upwards allowing his hands to fall into the vacant cavity that used to be his midsection.  It appeared as though the man had been gutted, with no signs of what his torso used to contain anywhere near the premise. 

Kneeling down, Yaten's hand fell slowly down towards the victim's face.  Clear brown eyes stared straight back at him, now void of their sight.  Using his index and pinky finger, the still calm man drew the eyelids down to conceal the orbs.  "There's plenty here."  Yaten responded as he shifted his hand up to rest on the victim's forehead.

The people around the scene stayed silent, all seemingly no longer busy with their task, stopped and watched Yaten as he closed his eyes.  Knelt down on one knee, resting his left arm on it, while still holding the handkerchief to his face, his left hand pressed hard against the victim's forehead while he faced the ground with his eyes closed.  

At first there was nothing, but then it came to him as though his vision was clearing from a dream.  A picture of a man's face came to his mind.  He had what appeared to be a simple butcher's meat cleaver in hand with an apron tied around his front.  Below his eyes were marking made in red paint… no blood.  The image flickered as a thought, one without an image to go with it passed through his mind.  One of a happy family, a wife and children… waiting with open arms to welcome their hero home.

Yaten's eyes opened and his head came up.  "Take him away."  He said to the waiting paramedic.

"That was a quicker one."  The fat man cheered.  Yaten didn't respond and stood to walk away.  "Hey! Wait up would ya?!"  The man tried pathetically to jog up to Yaten's retreating form.  "Give me a break, at least a ride to work would be nice."

"What happened to your car Jin?"  Yaten asked flatly while glancing over his shoulder.

Jin's mood fell and so did his pace.  "Repossessed."

"Again?"  Yaten chuckled at that one as he reached his car.  Opening his door that he had never bothered to lock, he motioned for Jin to get in also.  "That's the third one this year.  You'd think the bank would have learned their lesson by now."

Jin looked down to his belly in shame.  "I think they cut me a break because of who I am."

"Is that how you expect to get through life?  Making excuses and waiting for people to cut you a break because you're a cop?"  Yaten snorted as he started the engine.  "I see that jelly from those donuts is really going to your head, ne?"

Jin chuckled whole-heartedly and Yaten couldn't resist joining in.  "You'd think you were the Sergeant around here.  Come on, let's throw the lights on for fun!"

Yaten rolled his eyes as his light laughter subsided.  It was like working for a toddler, but you wouldn't see him complaining about it any time soon.  Whenever Jin would get criticized for his actions or off the wall commands, Yaten was always quick to back him giving rational excuses and reasons for his behavior.

This wasn't completely unwarranted though.  The rest of the law enforcement community didn't exactly smile upon Yaten's line of work, they always had comments to make about his role in the force and could easily find holes in his work.  And where wasn't there to find holes?  Yaten had a gift, an extraordinary gift that set him apart from the rest of the officers.

When a person dies, regardless of the cause of death there is always something left behind.  The human soul is like a blank slate when we are born, as we go through our lives we create images on this slate, but when we die… when we die it is different.  Just the moment before your demise an image is imprinted on the soul.

This was Yaten's gift, to read the still souls of the dead.  A soul leaves a piece behind to die in the mortal body, when the soul is reborn that small piece is regenerated in that new lifetime.  This re-growth is what makes it difficult to read the souls of children.  The missing piece hasn't been fully re-grown.

"There had better be food waiting for me when we get to the station, this is already shaping up to be a bad morning."  Jin mumbled from the passenger seat with his arms folded and a look of distaste on his features.

Yaten let a light smirk cross his lips, he was not one to often smile, but there was something about Jin that he couldn't help but be amused by.  "I suppose you're going to need a ride home today too, ne?"  He lifted a silver eyebrow in Jin's direction as they rolled to a stop in front of Tenth Street Precinct.  Jin's gracious smile was all the answer that he needed.

The sun had come up by now and allowed sunlight to stream in the windows of the precinct as the two men strolled casually in, the sight they had just seen nearly forgotten.  It happened all to regularly to dwell on any one incident.  "Good morning Sergeant…"  A tall lanky man with a stack of paperwork in his hands greeted.  "… Detective."  He bowed to Yaten.

Yaten paid him no mind and walked past him as though he didn't exist.  "You know, you'd think you'd be a little nicer to the people who do still like you here."  Jin said in an exasperated tone as he watched the tall skinny man continue on with his business.

A grumbling murmur came in response from Yaten's perced lips.  He was mocked and ridiculed as not being a true detective due to his unconventional methods, but he always got his man.  There was skepticism as to whether or not his evidence could be trusted, after all, how could he prove the visions that he had?  It wasn't as though he could plug his mind into a printer and put them on paper, now was it?  Though the thought had crossed Jin's mind in a drunken stupor one day, but was quickly laid to rest when he fell over and passed out.

As they made their way further into the station a woman with long red hair done up in an unusual looped style atop her head weaved in and out to block their path.  "Uh… Mr Kou… I… uh…"  She stammered as she walked backwards in front of Yaten and Jin trying desperately to get the silver haired man's attention.

Jin sighed as he saw she was getting nowhere and stopped in his tracks.  "What is it Kakyuu?  Just spit it out!"  

"Your office… she just came in and I… she said it was important."  She looked nervous as she told Yaten her message as though she were frightened of his response.

Yaten picked his eyes up off the secretary and glanced to his office.  There, between the mini-blinds that covered the glass window to his office, was a blond woman.  "Usagi?"  He questioned immediately as he went to push his way past Kakyuu once more.

"No Sir, it's…"  Kakyuu tried to get out but Yaten was already out of her range, let alone patients.

Leaving Jin behind with Kakyuu Yaten made forceful strides towards his office.  The one person that could change his demeanor and outlook on this already horrid day was standing now in his office.  He felt his mood changing swiftly at the mere thought of her, his tenshi.

Swinging the door open wide, Yaten entered his office with a particularly large grin.  It soon faded however as his guest swirled around.  "Minako?"  He questioned, paying no mind to covering his apparent disappointment.

Minako turned around, her long blond hair trailing down her back, the front cut into bangs, revealing her sore puffy eyes.  "Oh Yaten!"  She threw herself at him immediately and began to sob into his shoulder.

Yaten rolled his eyes and tried to pry her off of him.  It wasn't highly unlike Minako to react to the smallest things in the most overly dramatic ways, and he doubted that her new bout of tears was for anything of importance.  "What are you doing here?  I'm working."

Minako sobbed and dried her tears on a small piece of fabric she was clutching onto.  "I didn't want to be the one to tell you."  She tried to calm herself down a bit, but just the effort of bringing the words to her mouth was threatening to send her into yet another fit of tears.  "This morning Seiya called me…"  She choked on her breath as though she didn't want to continue.  "It's Usagi."

Yaten's attention was immediately peaked.  Anything that had to do with Usagi was of interest to him.  "What about Usagi?"  He started to become worried and aggravated at her delay in relaying the message.

Bringing her face up, which appeared to have been studying the fabric in her hand, her bloodshot eyes met with his clear green ones.  "She's dead."  She said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"What?!"  Yaten asked astonished.  "Why wasn't I called?"  He asked turning to take the knob of his office door into his hand.  

"It was a suicide."  Minako sniffled as she watched his hand drop from its task.  Yaten wasn't called for suicides, the killer was already apparent.

Instead of sadness, anger and suspicion grew in this voice.  "That's absurd!"  He shouted.  "I know Usagi, I know her well enough to know that she would never do something as stupid as that!"  He was enraged, so much that he didn't notice how he was frightening Minako across from him.

Usagi had always been a carefree spirit with the most positively optimistic outlook on life that it was almost sickening.  To her there was nothing wrong with the world, any problem could be solved if people just cared enough to solve them.  Her arms were open to give her love to everyone equally.  She would never dream of taking her own life…. Never.

"I'm just as shocked as you are."  Minako managed to squeak out between his outbursts.  "Seiya found her this morning…"

"She wouldn't do it Minako."  Yaten said.  "I know she wouldn't, she couldn't.  You know Usagi as well as I do, even if she gave up on life completely, she wouldn't take her own life because she knows how much it would hurt the rest of us."  

"I know."  

Coming out of his thoughts Yaten turned once more to leave his office.  "I don't believe it for a second!"  He voiced before turning back round to address Minako.  "She didn't kill herself… I have to find out for myself."  And with that he left.


	2. Part II Confirmation of Grief

I apologize for the late update.  I had originally intended on getting this story out fairly quickly, but I broke my arm and typing has been slow, not to mention the fact that other problems have arisen from it. V_V  Wow, listen to me whine! Anyway, I'll try my best to get them out as quick as possible.

How Far…?

Part II

Though short, the ride to Usagi's apartment seemed extremely long to Yaten.  He just couldn't believe that she had taken her own life.  He supposed that the actual impact of her death hadn't hit him yet, and he was possibly making excuses, somehow hoping that if he was right she would still be alive.  But that was impossible.

Paying no mind to the other more cautious drivers on the road, Yaten pulled his car violently into the first vacant parking space he located.  He had to find out what had happened, he ripped out of the car slamming the door roughly behind him before stalking up to the apartment building where she lived.

There were no police, no paramedics, no news reporters, the place was just as it would have been any other day that he had come to visit.  As he made his way up to her door, he was met with the sympathetic stares of her neighbors that he passed.  They knew Yaten well enough he was sure, by the number of times they had seen him come and go from apartment 214.

As he reached the door he noticed it was slightly ajar.  Without bothering to knock he pushed the door open far enough to allow his body to enter and proceeded in.  Everything was in place, little ornamental rabbits adorned just about every stand in the living room and there were more than enough pictures of Usagi and her friends.

A shuffle followed by a sobbing sound caught his ears and directed his attention down the hallway towards her bedroom.  Some one was here.  Cautiously he made his way towards the room, having no idea who this mystery person could be or what they were doing here.  As he turned the corner a man could be seen sitting on the floor of her bedroom, his head slumped over supported by his hands and a shoe box full of trinkets opened in front of him.

"Seiya?"  Yaten questioned as he made his presence known.

The man looked up, his long jet-black ponytail swung silently behind him.  His tear streaked face turned towards Yaten to show him his drowned midnight blue eyes.  His appearance was completely disheveled and unkempt.  After recognizing the man standing in the doorway he turned back around to continue with what he was doing.

Yaten paced over to him slowly.  "What are you doing here?"  He asked taking a look around the room.

"I can't believe she's gone…"  Seiya sobbed holding a small pink stuffed bear in his hands.  "I can't believe she left me…"

"She left us all."  Yaten added quickly.  Seiya didn't respond to Yaten with words, but his sobs and the position of his body spoke more loudly.  Yaten's eyes flickered over the dejected form of one of his best friends, he was taking this really hard… but so was Yaten.  

Seiya always displayed his feelings outwardly, never able to suppress them.  Yaten was quite the opposite, he could keep the calm poker face whenever necessary, he could mask any emotion.  On more than one occasion the thought had arisen in Yaten's mind that perhaps his emotions weren't as strong as Seiya's, maybe he didn't have the capacity to feel the way his friend did.  This thought was swept aside and replaced with the reassuring image that Seiya was an emotional mess.

"I'm going to find the person that did this to her…"  By now Seiya's tears had stopped, it made Yaten wonder just how long they had been sitting there in silence.

"Seiya there's no one to find, she did this to herself."  Though he spoke these words, and even though they contradicted every suspicion that he had been having only moments ago, he thought that this was what his disheveled friend needed to hear. 

Seiya stood, a shaking fist raised before him.  "No, you're wrong!"  He said forcefully to Yaten.  "She wouldn't… no she couldn't…"

"She did."  Yaten said resolutely standing beside Seiya.  In a rare moment and gesture of compassion, Yaten's hand lifted to rest on Seiya's shoulder to give him comfort.  His kind gestures were quickly shrugged away as Seiya continued with his insane accusations.

The black haired man's frame shook violently as he tried to keep his emotions and body from going insane.  "I'll find the person who did this…  she wouldn't leave me here alone…"

Yaten's anger began to grow inside of him.  Who the hell was Seiya to be talking about Usagi this way, as though she was his?  Harshly Yaten's arms ripped his friend around to face him.  Before the pitiless words could escape his lips, Yaten found his eyes searching Seiya's deep blue ones.  There was something there, a sadness mixed with determination, the same that he had seen apparent in his own eyes as he glanced in his rearview mirror earlier.  Did he sound this crazy?

Seiya once again tore himself from Yaten's grip, slightly puzzled when his friend stood there silently staring at him.  The silver haired man's mind was no long contemplating Seiya but was now turned on himself.  She was gone, he was facing that now, facing Seiya's delusions helped him to see his own.  It was like walking up from a dream to a slap in the face.

"Seiya…"  His voice was barely audible.

Seiya's head turned around just before he had reached the door of her bedroom.  "You'll help me won't you?"  He asked in more of a plea.

Yaten was going to help him, but not in the way that he wanted, he was going to help Seiya wake up too.  "Of course I will.  Let's go."

The morgue was cold, it caused a stifling of the soul to those who weren't used to it.  Yaten on the other hand was unaffected by the death around him, the iciness in the air and the sight of morbid families coming and going.  The sound of high heels clicking on the tile floor kept his mind turning in a rhythmic pace.  Minako had come along with them after finding Seiya and Yaten in Usagi's apartment.  Yaten had told her that it wasn't necessary for her to come, but she gave him a grief story that she wanted to see her just one more time.

"Is this stepping over the boundaries of your authority?"  Minako asked as she walked beside Yaten down the long dark gray hallway.

Seiya straggled behind, it seemed as though he had to will himself to take each step forward.  Yaten turned over his shoulder to spy him out of the corner of his eye.  "When it comes to friends, there are no boundaries."  The statement was kind but through the monotone voice Yaten had used one could question it.

Going through some formalities the Yaten was allowed in to see Usagi's body.  Minako and Seiya waited in the other room but were allowed to watch through the viewing window reserved for family members who have come to identify the bodies of their loved ones.  The coroner unzipped the bag that held the girl that Yaten had praised as his tenshi.  As though he was going for effect, the coroner's hand slid down slowly making the unveiling that much more dramatic, not to mention hard on Yaten.

There was a knot in the pit of his stomach as the golden tresses of her hair became visible at first and then slowly her pale unblemished skin peeked out.  In an instant, Usagi's face was facing Yaten's, both seemed void of color now, but only Usagi's eyes were closed.  "Sir?"  The coroner asked bringing Yaten from his transfixed gaze.

Yaten jerked to life and before he knew it there was a tear trickling down the side of his face that he caught quickly before it landed on Usagi or Minako and Seiya saw it.  Slowly he brought his hand up to touch Usagi's body below him.  She didn't look dead, she looked like she was sleeping.  She was perfect, her features delicate as though carved by the angels.  Yaten found himself wishing that he could peer into those crystal blue eyes one more time, that he could take her up from this table and into his arms.

Once again the jade-eyed man was brought from his reverie by a sound, this time from Seiya.  Minako was doing all that she could to comfort her friend as he sobbed into her shoulder.  Yaten turned his attention once again down to Usagi, taking a gulp of breath he placed his hand on her forehead.

The image came quickly, quicker than he had ever remembered receiving one before.  There stood a woman with blond hair done up in two pigtails, each stream of hair was topped by a bun in Usagi's customary hairstyle.  There was a smile on her face as her pink lips curled up towards her brilliant blue eyes.  The echoes came before the image had faded… "Minako…"  Usagi's voice said with a sob.  Thoughts of Seiya, himself and their friend Taiki came to mind.  Yaten let go suddenly, ripping his hand back from her skin.

Tears had begun streaming silently down his face without his knowledge.  There was so much emotion in her mind that it overwhelmed his senses.  Usagi's body stayed still and silent, still encased in death as her soul had screamed out to Yaten.  "Are you finished?"  The coroner asked while giving Yaten a concerned look.

Yaten's head nodded and Usagi's was taken from his sight.  Outside in the viewing room he could see Minako and Seiya looking at him expectantly and he just shook his head.  Taking a second to gain his composure once more Yaten then left the room to face his two friends.  "She did kill herself."  He said regrettably.  Yaten had come down to do this for Seiya, but secretly for himself.  His fears were confirmed as his own undoubtable evidence was placed before him.  

"NO!"  Seiya's voice sounded through the hallway.  "I don't believe it."

"Believe it Seiya."  Yaten said flatly while Minako stayed silent.  "She's gone and there is no one else to blame for her death."

"You wait."  Seiya said pointing a finger at Yaten.  "I'll show you, I'll show everyone.  She didn't kill herself."  He turned and took long strides down the hallway in a determined pace.

"He's mad."  Minako said.

"He's lost."  Yaten replied knowing something of Seiya's pain.

Minako's face turned to look over at Yaten's.  "What did she think about?"

He knew it had taken a lot for her to ask this question, she knew it would have upset him, so somehow he felt she deserved an answer.  "You, me… all of us."  He said starting down the same hallway Seiya had.  

"Are you alright?"  Minako asked softly, still not having moved yet.

Yaten stopped, turned and looked her in the eye.  "Don't look at me the same way you do to Seiya.  We're not the same, I don't need it."

"No but you are human."  

_'Sometimes I wonder…' _

Minako's form came closer to Yaten's.  "I don't want to be alone, will you stay with me?"  She asked innocently.

Yaten turned and shrugged off her request.  "Stay with Seiya, he'll be up for wallowing if you can deal with his conspiracy theories."  And with that the silver-haired detective left.


	3. Part III Words of a Friend

Like I said, you guys have got to cut me slack because of my new (admittedly half self imposed) handicap of a broken arm. -_-;; No need to fear!! I will be sawing it off tomorrow so it won't clash with my Kakyuu costume!! ^_^v That's right folks!! 

How Far…?

Part III

If Yaten was withdrawn from the rest of the force before, Usagi's death hadn't helped his disposition at all.  It had been two weeks since her passing and his mood stayed just as somber as the day he had found out.  He could take small comfort in the fact that he didn't look as pathetic as some other people, even if he felt that way.  

Seiya had been a nervous wreck since the day it happened.  He spent a lot of time consorting with Minako these days, she seemed to be the only one to support him in his quest to find Usagi's 'real' killer.  Occasionally he would come and burst into Yaten's office in the middle of the day only to rile the silver haired man up and try in vain to convince him of his newest theory.  Today was no different.

"Yaten, look, right here…"  Seiya held open a page of Usagi's diary in front of Yaten's brilliant green eyes.  "… she goes on about how happy she is!  Why would she write that passage down if she wanted to kill her self?"

Yaten tried his best to humor Seiya for as long as he could stand.  Seiya's grieving process varied to the far end of extreme from Yaten's, and he understood that, his mind and heart just couldn't take it all of the time.  "Things change."

"She wrote it that day!"  Seiya flipped through the pages, smiling occasionally.  The silver haired detective guessed that his friend had read the diary more than once and his random smiles were due to specific pieces that he remembered from it.

Standing from behind his desk, the shorter man grabbed for his jacket.  "Are you finished for the day?"  He questioned as Seiya continued to flip through the small book decorated with moons and stars.

"Are you listening to me at all?"

"Are you listening to yourself?  God Seiya, come on!  You must see how crazy you sound right now."  Yaten's patients were all but wearing thin right now and to make matters worse he was on his way out the door to a scene of a crime.

Without hollering back and continuing this fight, where Seiya saw he was getting nowhere fast, he threw the diary into Yaten's hands.  "Read it."  He said firmly.  "And you tell me just who is the crazy one."  With that he turned and walked out of Yaten's office taking extra measure to slam the door forcefully behind him.

~@~@~@~

Jin looked at Yaten nervously as they pulled up to the suburban home.  This particular call had taken them out to the far stretches of their jurisdiction, and throughout the long car ride, the two had been silent.  So many questions were on Jin's mind to ask the detective beside him but he thought the better of most of them.  Their relationship had never really been anything to speak of before, but now, after Usagi's death there was even less there.

Yaten seemed hesitant to perform his job, as though the small light that had been kindled within him had been put out, no longer causing his lusting for his duty.  But Jin didn't know the true agony that Yaten's job was now bringing to him.

The sound of the car doors closing echoed off into the distance, and the two men made their way to the nicely sided home of 12 Baker Drive.  There were other policemen of varying ranks and status mulling around the house, gathering what information they could.  They paid Jin and Yaten no mind, but gave the occasional instruction as to where the body was located.  Their brief search had brought them to the master bedroom where a middle-aged woman with short brown hair lay face down on the plush mauve carpet.

"An act of passion."  The man, who was clicking photographs continuously, offered up his explanation of the crime.  "I bet her husband came home, caught her in bed with another man and killed her."  He said, the camera hiding his face.

"Let us be the judge of that."  Jin said ushering the man away from the body.

Paying the man no mind, Yaten strode over to the body to perform his task.  The EMT's that were trying to collect the body stepped away to give the detective access.  Yaten's eyes flicked up from the woman's body to Jin, who was no facing him after successfully disbarring the photographer.  The unsurety washed over him once more before he drew in the breath that he would hold throughout the vision.

An image of a woman with shoulder length, black curly hair came to mind.  She was wearing a black business suit and wielding a revolver.  No more thoughts came to his mind, there were no echoes this time.  Just before Yaten was about to remove his hand from the victim another image blinded his sight.  Usagi's face came back to him once again, that same smile perched on his lips, torturing his mind.

"NO!"  The petite man screamed as he ripped his hand away and stood up, his breath a little less than ragged.  

"Take her away."  Jin instructed.  He didn't bother to ask Yaten if he was alright, this had happened too frequently since Usagi's death to question it every time.

Yaten felt the familiar warm, strong hand on his shoulder signaling that it was time to go.  Weaving his way back out of the house, he watched as the EMT's wheeled the victim's body out on a stretcher and load her into the back of the ambulance.  The unusually rough curb that lined the street caught the bottom wheels of the stretcher and caused it to suddenly jerk to life.  In a sweeping motion the right arm of the deceased fell out into view from under the sheet.

"Yaten…"  A whisper said to him just before the blinding white light came.  His hands were on the silver strands of his hair, holding his head in frustration.  Images of Usagi's face and smile came back to him, one after another in a quick succession.  Light flutters of her laughter accompanied them.

"Come on, let's get you home."  Jin's voice broke through the confusion and brought him back to reality.  Nodding his head, Yaten followed the portly man back to the squad car.

The tires of the car passing over the grooved pavement were almost hypnotizing to Yaten as he stared off out the window.  The long excursion and drive to the scene had taken up most of the day and the sun's last light was peaking over the treetops.  "Maybe you just need a vacation."  Jin offered up trying once again to convince Yaten of the fact.

"I'm fine."  Yaten replied with his familiar line.  Though he knew he wasn't and it was apparent to anyone that Jin saw through his charade, he had nothing else besides work right now.  "What the hell is she doing here?"  The exasperation in his tone caused a chuckle from Jin beside him.

Jin's eyes darted over to see just what had caused this reaction from his normally calm partner and saw the sedan that he knew well enough belonged to one Miss Minako Aino.  "You should be tickled pink that a woman like that comes to see you!"  Jin said letting out an unusually girly giggle for a man his size.

"You think she's so great?  You take her home!"  Yaten cursed getting out of the car and closing the door.

"Wish I could."  Jin smiled as he watched Yaten walk into the station ahead of him.  By the time he made it in Yaten had already found his way to his office and was confronting Minako from what he could see through the window.  

"I tell her every time, I swear!"  Kakyuu came to her own defense as she watched Jin looking at the two.  "The woman doesn't seem to hear or care for a word I say!"

"Don't worry he knows that, Miss Aino is one pushy broad."

"You can say that again!"  Kakyuu complained as she rubbed her left arm while glaring at Minako.

"Yaten!  I'm taking you out tonight and you can't say no.  You've already turned me down every time I've asked you and I simply won't take another rejection."  Minako was being her usual bubbly self while batting her eyelashes.

"No."  Yaten said, moving some papers about on his desk.

"I just told you that you couldn't say no."  Minako smiled, no one could accuse her of not being persistent.

With a heavy sigh, Yaten looked up from the piles he was making of his paperwork and looked Minako directly in the eye.  "When are you ever going to quit?"

"When you agree to come out with me."

"I don't feel like going out tonight."  He said resuming his work, hoping against the inevitable that she would just accept that as her answer.

"Fine then, I'll come to your place and make you dinner."  She smiled and Yaten saw that she was going to leave no room for objections.

~@~@~@~

The apartment was plain, a few random pictures adorned the walls where the enormous bookshelves, piled high with books, didn't reach.  Yaten's studio apartment could have been mistaken for a library if more suitable living furniture wasn't also present.  The echoes of the street below could be heard wafting in from the open windows.

"Some people would propose to think that you were anti-social what with all these books you keep here."  Minako observed as she fingered some of the bindings while carrying her glass of wine from dinner in her free hand.

"I like books."  The silver haired man sat down on the couch and set his glass along with the half empty bottle of wine down on the coffee table.  "They're resolute and end, when you're not in the mood for them they leave you alone."  He said picking his eyes up to make sure Minako knew the comment was directed at her.

Minako just smiled and paid him no mind.  Coming from the bookshelves she made her way over to Yaten on the couch.  She was not going to be deterred now, no matter how much of a pissy attitude he presented her.  "You haven't killed Seiya yet?"  He asked referring to his insistent theories.

A frown marred Minako's face as she looked down into her drink.  "I really feel bad for him."

Yaten set his eyes on the bottle of wine before him, his fingers flickering on the peeling label that had started to curl slightly.  "Me too.  Part of me wants to give in and support him on his theories, but then I'd only be aiding his growing insanity."

"He's not insane."

"He's let his delusions of Usagi's death control his days, I wouldn't exactly say that was healthy."  Yaten spat back at her before emptying the contents of his glass.

Minako smiled and poured him another glass.  "And what about you Yaten?"

"What about me?"  Yaten asked looking anywhere but at Minako.

"How are you dealing with it all… aren't you lonely?"  

The conversation was taking a turn that Yaten didn't want to go down.  He didn't want to be involved in Minako's Cosmopolitan analysis of his mental state and how he _should_ be acting right now.  "You know, for being my friend I'd figure you had more tact than that Minako."  He said dryly as he stood to bring his emptied wine glass into the kitchenette.

Minako's smirk died out as she watched him walk away from her.  That had not gone at all the way she had planned, but wasn't ready to give up yet.  "I think you misunderstood me."

Yaten raised a silver eyebrow in her direction.

"I'm worried about you."  Minako said coming up from her position on the couch.  "I worry about you much more than Seiya."

"Seiya's a fool."

"Seiya's beautiful person."  Minako took a casual pace to the other side of the apartment.  "It's a lot healthier, not to mention sane to express your emotions.  I don't worry about Seiya the same way as you because I know what he's feeling, he makes it obvious to anyone.  All of the pain, sorrow, loss and anger, they're all visible in his eyes."  She leaned onto the counter before her, looking directly across it to Yaten's green eyes with a penetrating stare.  "Your eyes are different."

"Because I'm not a emotional wreck, you worry about me?"  Yaten laughed the comment off.  "That's a new one Minako."

"You have to let it out.  I know you're not hallow in there."

_'…maybe I am…'_

Yaten shook his head allowing his silver bangs to dance across his face.  The same white light from before clouded his vision and for a moment he felt like he was dying.  An indescribable pain filtered throughout his body, ripping at the fabric that held him together.  He heard a giggle in the distance and recognized it immediately as Usagi's.  A distorted image of her face came back to haunt him once again and it spoke to him, recalling a time they had talked before.

_"Yaten, sometimes I think you know me better than anyone else."  Usagi giggled lightly as she touched his face and brushed his hair back behind his ear.  "And I'm happy that you let me see your true colors too."_

His kitchenette came back into focus and there was still Minako prodding in front of him.  "Don't worry about me."  He said softly, trying to hold back the emotions that his memory had stirred up.  "I'm fine."  Minako shot him a puzzling look but dropped the conversation.  "I turning in soon, I've had a long day at work."

"I can take a hint."

"That's a first."

"Goodnight Yaten."  Minako smirked as she collected her things.


	4. Part IV Healing Only to Open New Wounds

How Far…?

Part IV

The days passed by slowly, each one blending more and more with the day before it.  Insomnia was taking its toll on Yaten, as the increased weight of the bags below his eyes and the books in his arms told anyone.  His dreams had become nightmares, beautiful, haunting images of a girl that couldn't be described any better than as being an angel, came to him every night, reminding him of his sadness and grief.  He couldn't just let it go.

One thing that had stopped however, and for this Yaten was more than thankful for, were Seiya's insistent theories concerning Usagi's death.  It had been two weeks since the last he had heard from his friend at all.  A frown suddenly marred Yaten's pale face, had he not been the supportive friend that Seiya had needed?  No he hadn't, but how could he offer up support to someone else if he was having a hard time driving himself from day to day?

The dull thud from the clock on the wall signaled that it was nearly lunchtime.  "Five more minutes of freedom."  The silver haired detective sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Miss me much?"  A feminine voice rang through his office bringing his head back up from its relaxed position.

"Nope, I was wrong."  He muttered to himself as his eyes fell upon Minako standing in the doorway with two bentous in her hand.  A devious smile replaced his disappointment as he rose from his chair.  "Yet another attempt at poisoning me today Ms Aino?"

Minako stomped her foot and firmly planted her balled fists on her hips.  "You know very well that I didn't mean to put that much cajen pepper in your salad…"  Minako drawled on pleading her innocence while Yaten simply observed her.  These lunch dates were becoming all the more frequent and Yaten was finding it harder and harder to deny the fact that he was starting to grow rather fond of the ray of sunshine named Minako.

"Gomen, gomen, how could I ever have suspected that a beauty like you would harm a fly?"  Grabbing the keys to his office, he was by her side in a matter of a few steps.

"Exactly!"  Minako beamed.  "It's about time you recognized my flawless talents of love and beauty!"

"Oi oi…"  Kakyuu rolled her eyes at Minako's statement as the pair walked by.

The air was sweeter today, sweeter than Yaten had remembered it being in a long time.  A few clouds drifted lazily across the blue afternoon sky, but the single looming black one caught his attention.  Previous thoughts of Seiya filtered back into his mind as he turned his sight away from the sky above.  "I haven't seen Seiya in a while."  He said seemingly out of nowhere.

Minako finished packing up their utensils and napkins.  "Oh?"  She asked not looking directly towards the silver-haired man.  "He's finally given up on you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"  Yaten took immediate offense to her statement and his green eyes snapped over to her form.

"I was simply commenting on how it seems as though Seiya has given up his plot to try and convince you of his conspiracy theories."  The blond stopped what she was doing, noting the serious look on Yaten's face.

"Oh…"  His complexion softened as she looked down at his hands with his back slightly hunched.  "… has he given up on you too?"

"Not likely."  Minako sighed.

Yaten chuckled lightly to himself.  "If I didn't know any better I'd say you had a soft spot for the loon."

Minako stood collecting all that she had brought, it was time to go back.  "Jealous?"  She asked with a sarcastic undertone.

Yaten smiled up at her before pushing himself from the grass below. '…_maybe…_'

Jin spotted Yaten coming in from his lunch hour with sun-kissed cheeks and knew immediately that he had been out with Minako.  He smiled to himself knowing that the apocalypse wasn't truly upon them since Yaten hadn't completely turned to stone.  "Well, well, well… Mr Kou."  Jin sauntered up to the shorter detective.

"Hot dogs with mustard and meat sauce for lunch?"  Yaten asked turning to Jin with a quizzical glance.

Jin stuttered on his response amazed that he could tell.  Putting a hand up to his mouth, he breathed into the cupped flesh to catch the scent of his own breath.  "How did you know?  I ate gum afterwards!"  

"Seeing as how you treated your shirt as a canvas Picasso, it isn't hard to read the facts."

The older man blushed slightly as he looked down and observed the remenants of his lunch staining his button down shirt.  As he looked up he noticed Yaten had already begun to retreat back towards his office.  In a very unflattering jog, Jin hurried to catch up to him, which in turn caused a giggle to erupt from the flame haired Kakyuu.  

"You damn thin people move so damn quick!"  Jin struggled to breathe in a normal rhythm to cover up his apparent fatigue.  

"And it's still a wonder how you always manage to get the first donut here every morning."  Yaten mused, walking around the back of his desk.

"Funny, funny."  Jin rolled his eyes.  "I must say though, I did miss it."

"Missed what?"  He shuffled through papers, trying to get his previous work back in order to resume his task, his eyes were down and his attention barely on the man before him.

"You… the old you.  As much as you shove your sarcasm up my ass, I have to admit that I missed it."  He smiled as Yaten stopped what he was doing to give his full attention to Jin.  "How are your headaches?"

"Fine."  The reply was premeditated and by now it came out as conditioned response.  Though this time, he meant it.  Yaten smiled to himself as he thought back to the last time he had experienced the pain.  Only at night, only in his dreams had it come back to him, which lead to his new habit of insomnia.  They were less frequent, but the detective had become accustom to his lack of sleep even if his body hadn't, and continued to stay up at night reading alone.

"You don't think it could have something to do with a certain blond do you?"  The sergaent's thick bushy eyebrows raised in suspicion as he watched a light rose color spread across the usually hard detective's face.

"Did you come in here for something?"  Yaten snapped quickly changing the subject.

Jin smirked at his response.  "We have to go, there was a call down on 34th Street."

"And you were sitting here shootin the breeze?"

Jin rolled his eyes yet again and turned to walk out of the office.  "Yes boss, let's go play cop."

Yaten shook his head and made a mental note to ask for a bonus, babysitting had not originally been in his job description.

~@~@~@~

It was Friday, thank god Yaten didn't have to work on the weekends, but then again that also meant that he had one less excuse to avoid…  "Ohayo Yaten!"  Minako's usual bright chipper voice came clear through the telephone.

"Oi, Minako, it's too early in the morning."

Minako continued on, unphased by Yaten's apparent disagreement to her mood.  "What are you doing this weekend?"

"If I say nothing am I going to regret it?"  There was a playful tone to his voice, though he tried his best to cover it up.

Light laughter filtered into his head before the blond on the other end spoke once more.  "No, of course not because you'll be doing something with me!  I'll come to your apartment tonight and we can discuss it."

"Whatever, I should be getting out of here around seven or so."

"Great, I'll see you then!"

"Ja." 

"Is that a smile I see on your face?"  A masculine voice mocked him from behind.

Yaten spun around quickly to see his seargent standing behind him with a broad grin plastered to his face.  "I don't know what you're talking about."  Yaten wiped the look from his face.

"Why don't you just give in and be happy for once?"  Jin asked but received no answer.  This was a dangerous road to be traveling down with Yaten, especially before he had at least two cups of coffee in him.  "Let's go, we've got one already."  He motioned for Yaten to follow them as they headed out to yet another crime scene.

~@~@~@~

Why did Fridays seem THAT much longer than most other weekdays?  Yaten sighed as he sat behind the steering wheel of his car.  Today was the day that just felt as though it would never end, but he could finally go home now.  7:15pm, Minako was going to be upset with him being late, and for once he actually felt bad.

A smile worked its way to Yaten's face as Jin's earlier words came back to him.  "Why shouldn't I be happy for once?"  Yaten asked looking into his own eyes reflecting back at him in the rearview mirror.  Minako wasn't that bad, and truthfully she had been the only semi-sane and intelligent conversation he'd had in a while.  With Seiya going off the deep end and his other best friend Taiki starting a family, they didn't seem to be good candidates to fill Yaten's free time.

In that split second, Yaten made a pact to himself to be nicer to Minako, and to not jump down her throat at every small detail.  Maybe she was good for him… only because she's so much like 'her'… 

He never remembered leaving the parking lot, but yet here he was driving down the street, his thought engulfing him.  The light before him switched to a bright red and caused him to stop, only to let his thoughts catch up to him.

The carefree spirit, the understanding of others, and the same warm ora were all things that Minako and Usagi had in common.  Was his heart moving on?… or was it just finding a substitute?  

His thoughts were yet again broken by the sound of the ambulance siren screaming behind him.  After it had passed, Yaten had noticed that the light before him had already switched to green.  The silver-haired man followed the same path as the ambulance since it was also his way home.  

The ambulance slowed and signaled its turn.  "Seiya…"  Yaten whispered as he spotted the apartment complex the medical vehicle was pulling into.  Squad cars of his presinct were present at the scene also, Jin's car being among the many.  Why wasn't he called?  Quickly Yaten pulled his cell phone from his pocket to see if he had just missed their call, but there were no messages.  

Not knowing what was going on or why he wasn't called, Yaten pulled up before the massive building, hoping that it wasn't Seiya and that it was someone, something else… but he was disappointed.  

"Seiya Kou, male, 24, gun-shot wound to the chest.  Victim pronounced dead at scene, murder weapon not found…" Yaten sat still in his car with the flashing red and blue lights reflecting off him in the dusk light, when the officer's voice reached him.

"No…"  Yaten took the stairs two at a time as he raced Seiya's third floor apartment.  It couldn't be true, this wasn't happening.


	5. Part V Comfort of a Friend

How Far…?

Part V

Yaten's heart pounded furiously in his chest as he reached the fire exit to the third floor.  As he swung the door open he was immediately met with the stares of his comrades and other personnel.  Across from him was the door to Seiya's apartment, it was opened, exposing the bloodstain that had splattered itself against the far wall in a webbed pattern.  The silver-haired man was trapped, frozen like a deer in headlights at the sight of the blood.  It had put everything into perspective, it had made everything so real.

"Yaten!"  There was a strong push against his arm, shoving him from the sight he was witnessing.  "What are you doing here?"  The strong voice asked with a hint of sympathy.

"Jin…"  Yaten muttered looking up into the taller sergeant's eyes, with a distant look in his own.  "Why…"

"Come on let's get you home."  The stoutly cop immediately started to usher Yaten back down the hall, this time towards the elevators.

Yaten struggled to turn back to the scene.  "No!"  He told Jin as he regained his composure.  "Why wasn't I called?"

"Yaten…"  Jin started, almost speechless at his partner's outburst.  "We didn't think…"

"You didn't think what?  Did you think I wouldn't find out about it?  Did you think I was incapable?"  His harsh tongue was silenced immediately as an idea formed in his mind.  "That's it isn't it?  You thought I was in competent didn't you?"

"No, not at all!"  Jin defended himself as the other officers rushed by they followed by three EMT's and a stretcher.

"You were asking me about my headaches, it wasn't for sympathy, it was your way of testing my sanity… WASN'T IT?!"  His deep green eyes were blazing as he stared upon the deception he was facing.  

Jin grabbed for Yaten's arm once more, this time intending to put a firmer hold on it, but he missed.  Yaten had backed away, sensing Jin's intentions.  "Yaten, we were trying to protect you."

"Listen to him Yaten."  An officer in uniform came between the two, sensing the tensions growing.  "No one wants to see this, especially not a close friend of the victim."

"Fuck you!  Fuck both of you!"  Yaten pushed past them, his temper out of control and reason being throw out the window.

Jin stared at him as he made his way over to where the lifeless body of his friend lay.  "Jin, you tried.  You know nothing can stop that midget when he puts his mind to something."  Jin nodded silently thinking to himself.

'I just wanted to save him from this, to save him from feeling more pain.'

"Seiya…"  Yaten's voice squeaked out as he looked down at the messy corpse of his best friend.  "What the hell did you do?"

"It was homicide."  The EMT that was trying to decipher the best way to collect all that was left of Seiya told Yaten.  

"Homicide?"  Yaten questioned looking up at the EMT with narrowed eyes.  Seiya hadn't done this to himself, someone had robbed him of his existence, tortured as it might have been.  Anger and fury began to flood his senses once more as he looked with determination down upon Seiya.

Reaching his hand forward to touch Seiya's corpse, he was going to find out who he could place this blame upon, but instead felt his hand roughly pulled back.  "Don't do it."  The officer said.  "You are not on this case, you have no right to be here."

Yaten tried to free his hand but only found that a handcuff had been snapped around it.  "No right?!"  He hissed.  "This is my best friend in the entire world, who the hell are you to tell me I have no right to be here?!"

"Kou, don't do this."  The officer repeated bluntly.

"Who else is going to do it?!"  His voice and tone seethed as his eyes darted around the room.

"The police department can not be responsible for your actions during this time.  You know the rules, no personal issues are to mix with your duty, and if this isn't in direct violation to that procedure then far be it from me to know otherwise.  The Chief expected you to act this way."  The officer held Yaten at bay, trying to talk some sense into him.

"Who is working his case?"  Yaten was nowhere near calming down or listening to the reasoning voice of his fellow officer.  "Who?! Who would be better than me?"

"Anyone of us!"  Jin called coming up behind the two.  "Look at yourself for Christ's sake!  You're a mess!"

"I'm going to catch the person."  Yaten spoke resolutely.  

"No you're not."  Jin answered him.  "What would you do when you found the murder?"  Jin asked.

Yaten didn't hesitate in his answer, his mouth formed into a crooked, sadistic smile.  "I'd make it so their own mother wouldn't recognize them, I'd tear their heart out and make it so that God herself wouldn't recognize them as being one of her children."

The officer holding him in custody looked on with wide eyes at the display and actions that Yaten was planning to take.  Jin just looked at him, narrowing his eyes he stepped forward and spoke in a hushed tone.  "That is why we can't let you take this case, why we can't let you know who the murder is."

"Then you're protecting them."  Yaten spat back, clearly not thrilled with his superior's reasoning.

"No I'm protecting you.  Don't you see?  If you went out, not even as a police detective, and killed this person, what it would do to the rest of your life?"

"What the hell else do I have in the rest of my life any more?  Don't deny me the one thing that can make me happy now!"  Yaten was in no position to be arguing his point, his entire physical standing demanded rest and his mental state was not doing much better.

"You're staying with me tonight."  Jin told him forcefully.

"No."  Yaten said calmly as he watched Seiya's body get loaded onto the stretcher.

"You're not staying alone."

"I'll stay with Minako."

~@~@~@~

The rain had started as soon as Jin pulled up to Yaten's apartment.  Sure enough, there were lights on in the window that he knew to be the detective's.  "It looks like she stuck around and waited for you."  Jin said with an unreadable expression.

"Hmm."  Yaten answered unphased by a touch of good news.  His mind wasn't where is should have been just then.  Images of Seiya, and the times they shared kept taking a casual pace through his mind, reminding him of all that he was missing.  The old wound of death had been opened again before it had even healed.  _… Usagi…_

Going through the usual motions, Yaten and Jin made their way up to his apartment only to have the door opened for them by an expectant Minako.  "Where were you?"  She asked with a pissy look on her face until she saw Yaten's mood.  Her eyes skipped from Yaten's stone face to Jin's.  "What happened?"

Yaten pushed his way past the blond and headed for the sink.  The sound of running water filled his ears as the conversation Jin and Minako were having was muffled from being coherent.  He had no doubts as to what they were talking about.  He knew he should have been the one to tell Minako about Seiya, but bad news is still bad news, no matter who it comes from, ne?

He splashed cold water on his face in an effort to sober himself from his thoughts, but it wasn't working.  There was a chill in his mind that he couldn't shake and it was working its way though the rest of his body.  Was he in denial?  Once he switched the water off, his visitor's voices could be heard once again.  "… are you sure?"  Jin's voice sounded unsure.

Minako's calm demeanor had been racked by sobs.  Her head bobbed up and down to signal what her voice couldn't express.  Jin passed an unsure look to Yaten and then back upon Minako before giving her a hug.  "Yaten…  If not for yourself, stay here for Minako."  He pleaded holding the crippled form of the beautiful goddess.

Yaten staggered up and as soon as he got close enough Minako turned from Jin's arms to his.  His green eyes stayed on Jin as he felt the racked sobs of the woman in his arms.  Why wasn't he crying?  He hadn't cried for Usagi either.  "Take care of her."  Jin warned him as he turned to leave.  "I'll see you on Monday."  And with that he left.

Now that Jin was gone, the blond head of hair that was buried in his chest picked up to shine her blood shot eyes on Yaten's face.  "Yaten… I…"  The words failed her as her sobs choked her up once again.

Yaten didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to console himself, let alone someone else.  "They wouldn't let me touch him."  Yaten muttered to Minako.

Minako sobbed and shook her head.  "This isn't happening… it can't be!"

Unconsciously Yaten's head dipped down to kiss the top of Minako's head in a comforting motion.  With his lips still pressed against her hair he thought of his situation.  "I'll find the person who did this… They won't get away with this."  His voice was mono-toned and even.

They stood like that in the middle of Yaten's apartment for a long time, neither of them making any effort to move.  The previous fatigue that he was feeling was starting to severely take its toll on him and he found that he could no longer stand.  Reluctantly he pulled away from Minako's still form and headed over to the couch without giving her a second glance.

"Yaten?"

His head picked up and his eyes rested on Minako.

"What are we going to do?"  Her tears had just started to dry up, but the aftermath and marks of their paths still marred her face.  "We're alone."

They were alone.  Yaten had tried not to think of the emptiness that had been growing inside of himself after Usagi's death, and he pushed it further down with Seiya's.

Minako came up to look directly into Yaten's eyes.  "I don't want to be alone anymore."

Yaten's eyes studied her face for a long eternity before replying.  "Me either…"  And with that he pressed his lips firmly against Minako's in his effort to join with someone else, to fill that empty void.

Strong arms wrapped around her small frame as a comforting feeling swept over both of them.  Painful memories were being washed away and being replaced by the caresses and passions that they exchanged.  Yaten's kisses were hungry as though he had gone without this emotion for far too long, and Minako merely received them, grateful to feel something else.

A friend to find comfort in, that's all they needed for now and it would last them through the night.


	6. Part VI Startling Discovery

How Far…?

Part VI

Minako awoke in the middle of the night.  Expecting the warm, strong arms of Yaten to still be wrapped around her, she was extremely disappointed when she found them missing.  Shifting suddenly to gain her bearings in the one room apartment she found that Yaten was no longer in the bed with her.  Her head picked up to scan the room for any signs of him and that's when she saw him near his closet replacing his shirt.  "What are you doing?"

"It's still early, I can sneak in and find Seiya's body."  After tying his long silver hair back in his usual ponytail, leave the shorter pieces to hang along side his face, Yaten began to rummage through the various items on his dresser.

The painful memories of the previous day must have been reinstated in Minako's mind as the tears welled up in her eyes once more.  The blond shook her head in an effort to hold them back, trying to put up a strong guise.  "I'm coming with you."  She stated bluntly.

"No."  Yaten answered with the same curtness.  "It will be easier if I go alone."

"I don't care, I'm coming with you.  I want to see him one last time."  The covers flew off the bed as Minako stood to dress herself to go out.

Yaten couldn't help but blush slightly at the sight of Minako dressing, but he quickly pushed that emotion aside and got back to his task at hand.  "I don't care, you're not coming with me!"  He shoved his badge and wallet into his pockets and picked up his keys.

"Oh yes I am.  I remember what happened when you touched Usagi, I'm not going to let you go alone and risk that again."  She stopped, slowing down her motions and coming up to look Yaten in the eye.  "That was the first time I'd ever seen you shed a tear…"

Yaten studied her eyes for a moment, knowing what she said was true, but at the same time not wanting to admit it to himself.  Without saying another word he turned swiftly on his heel and headed for the door… with Minako close behind him.

~@~@~@~

There were a handful of cars parked sporadically in the usually full parking lot when they arrived.  Switching off the lights and taking his keys from the ignition Yaten took one more glance over at Minako.  "Even if I tell you to stay here you're not going to do it are you?"  Minako shook her head signaling that there was no way he was going to stop her from coming in.  This sparked a smile to appear on the pale man's face.  "Good, I can always trust you to be stubborn."  Minako smiled back at the fact she had temporarily won this battle.  Yaten leaned forward to kiss her lips one last time before exiting the car.  

Long, quick strides brought the pair to the doors of the hospital.  The usual hustle and bustle that went on during the busier hours of the day was silenced, and not a soul could be seen.  With an air of determination, and a couple 'Mission Impossible' maneuvers, the two had managed to confiscate a freight elevator to bring them down to the depth of the building, down to the morgue.

Nothing had been spoken between the two since they had left the sanctity of the car.  As the elevator doors opened they pinned themselves to the front sides of the car so they wouldn't be detected by a passerby.  Still cloaked in their secrecy, Yaten made sure the coast was clear before motioning for Minako to follow him on his venture out.  Yaten, having been down this route all too many times, was quite familiar with his surroundings.

Footsteps down at the far end of the hall signaled that they were not alone, most likely the coroner that was on duty.  Thinking quickly, Yaten pulled Minako into a janitor's closet just across the hall from them, closed the door quickly and soundlessly behind them.  Darkness flooded his senses, all he could feel in their confined space were the long, slender handles of what he believed to be mops and brooms and Minako's body pressed firmly up against his.

"Do you think they saw us?"  Minako breathed in a whisper.

"No."

The silence surrounded them, and there was barely any noise filtering in from the hallway just passed the door.  There was no telling how long they were going to be stuck in this closet like this, which only angered Yaten further.  "You know, I'm not… I mean I don't…"  Minako stuttered on her words, fumbling for just the right ones.  "I'm alright if what happened between us last night was just a one time thing, I understand…"

"Not now!"  Yaten hissed trying to silence her.  In all actuality he had thought about that for a good portion of the night, lying beside the blond not being able to sleep as usual.  What would things be like tomorrow between the two of them?  Was she thinking that he needed her?  Was she just using him the way he thought he was using her?  At his words, he felt Minako's body immediately stiffen and felt a pang of guilt.  No he wasn't using her, he had wanted that to happen, it was just terrible that it took the situation that happened to be the cause of it.

Wrapping his arm around her waist he held her tighter to himself as he kissed her forehead and whispered an apology.  This single act alone seemed to suffice Minako and even through the darkness Yaten could sense her smile.  The echoing of a door shutting sliced through the moment and brought their thinking back around to what they were doing.  "Seiya…"  Yaten whispered.  "I'm coming."

Slowly and cautiously the detective opened the door to peer out into the unknown.  All activity had ceased in the hallway and as he looked further down he could see through the window to the autopsy room that it was empty.  Taking hold of Minako's hand, he led her out of the small, cramped closet and down towards their destination.

Having only been brought in last night, Yaten was sure that Seiya's body would still be waiting for examination… and he was right.  A chill went up his spine as he walked across the cold room towards his former best friend.  This feeling didn't come from the cold that surrounded him, but instead from the threads of ice he felt growing and coursing through his veins.

"You may not want to see this."  Yaten warned Minako as he took a look back at her.  She was biting her lip and waiting anxiously for the unveiling.

"No this is why I came… to say goodbye."  Minako said, appearing as though she was fighting to keep the tears from coming once again.

Yaten turned around placing his hand on the sheet that concealed Seiya's body beneath it, he saw no reason to argue with her.  Drawing in a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do, he slowly ripped back the sheet from the raven-haired man's face.

There, laid out on the stretcher, cleansed of the blood that had coated his body only hours ago, was Seiya.  His face held the structure of being at peace, almost serene.  His long ebony tresses were undone from their clasp and snaked their way down under his torso.  He was so pale, his lips had become an unsightly shade of blue, and their extreme lack of pigment was only enhanced more by the dark locks of hair that fell over his forehead.

"Yaten?"  Minako asked, her voice quivering slightly on the syllables.  

"I'm fine."  He answered her in a short tone, never once taking his eyes away from the body before him.  "I'm fine."  He repeated, more for himself than for Minako standing behind him.  His thoughts were rushed and broken by the soft sobs he heard coming from his partner and he knew he had to get her out of here.

Not taking time to dwell on the moment or shock any longer, he brought his hand up over the almost pristine white forehead of Seiya.  With vengeance on his mind he brought his palm down to rest of the flesh of his friend and instantly the image appeared in his head, swirled with the echoes of his mind.

His vision, clouded in around the edges with white light showed him something that he could not have foreseen, something that he could definitely not have expected.  There, in a white gown, stood Usagi holding a handgun.  The agonizing memories that Yaten knew were Seiya's last, screamed out in pain in his mind.  Thoughts of Usagi, they were all thoughts of Usagi.  The love he had felt for Usagi flooding out into Yaten's mind, the pain and misery that he had been living with from day to day added it's weight on top of the pain that Yaten already felt. 

The emotions overwhelmed him once again and he could not take the agony that was torturing him any longer.  Trying with all he had left in his will, Yaten ripped his hand away from Seiya's face only to find the same salty tears stinging his face once more, just as they had when he had touched Usagi.

"No…"  Yaten muttered to himself.  There were so many things going through his head that it was hard for him to sift through them.  Usagi had killed Seiya?  No, how could she?

"Yaten?"

Seiya loved Usagi?  Why hadn't he ever seen this?

"Yaten?"

Usagi killed Seiya?

"Yaten!"  Minako shook him trying her best to bring him back to reality.  "What happened, what did you see?"

The silver-haired man's posture straightened and he looked upon Minako with wide eyes.  "I saw Usagi."

"Nani?"  Minako seemed just as astonished as he had been, the confusion settling in all around them.

"I saw Usagi, she shot Seiya."

"But she couldn't… I mean, it's just impossible… isn't it?"

The two stood in silence, looking back over Seiya's body laying peacefully still.  No one would have suspected the torment and anguish that flowed through his mind before he died, and now Yaten doubted that he was ever going to be able to forget it.  Their revere was broken shortly by the sound of the door opening.  They were unaware of their surroundings at the time and had irresponsibly forgotten that they weren't supposed to be there.

"Detective Kou!"  The coroner exclaimed as he entered the room to find Yaten in deep thought and a blond woman beside him weeping.  "What are you doing here?"

Yaten's head snapped up, not caring any more about his 'secret mission', he looked the coroner in the face.  "I was just leaving."

The coroner smiled at him briefly.  "I was warned to keep an eye out for you, to not let you near your friend's body."  The man stopped and closed his eyes taking in a breath.  "Through all these years and as long as I've known you, I'm happy to say that I didn't see you here today."

Yaten nodded his head thankfully at the man who had just inadvertently saved his ass, and led Minako away.

~@~@~@~

Gomen about the shortness of the chapters, but as you can see it has been helping me to get them out quicker to you!! ^_^


	7. Part VII Overlooked Details

How Far…?

Part 7

Try as he might, Yaten could do nothing to stop his mind from swirling in circles around the images he had seen in Seiya's soul.  It just wasn't possible, he couldn't fathom how they could be true.  As he sat, for the third day straight, still with no sleep, a realization dawned on him.  In his ludicrous mental state, brought on by the sleep deficiency, he smiled and let out a faint chuckle that drew the attention of Minako across the room.  He had now become just like Seiya.  Withdrawn from society, in constant denial of the facts before him, and trying to find an escape from the pain he felt through the immersion of his lost mind.

Minako's blond head picked up from her reading.  She had been at Yaten's apartment for three days now.  She wasn't sure what he did while she was asleep, but the time that she watched him he only read.  He made more than a normal person's share of trips to the library, searching for books of reference on the paranormal.  His determination had reached a point that she had never seen.

"Have you found something?"  Her unsure voice echoed through the tension.  She had been hesitant to approach him, not wanting to disturb him with her own mourning.

The lightened look of Yaten's face fell as he shook his head and lowered his eyes back down to the written text before him.  Minako sighed as she was once again pushed aside.  He hadn't gone to work today and when he did call to question Jin about the investigation of Seiya's murder, he got no closer to solving the mystery.  All that Jin could tell him was the expected height of the perp due to the position of the gunshot wound.

Yaten read on, returning his eyes to the dialogue before him.  A book he had picked up, a bound hard cover version of 'Weekly World News' pretty much, he looked for similar incidences of what had happened.  There wasn't too much.  The silver haired man sighed breathing in the still air of the apartment.

He had found a case that had yet to be explained that could fit this scenario.  "Alright Minako."  He smiled at her, slightly amused by his own confusion and the absurdity of the passage he was reading.  "What do you think of this?"

Minako looked up with a light in her eyes.  It had been hours since Yaten had spoken to her and that was only to ask for a glass of water.  "I'm listening."  He hadn't forgotten she existed.

"What if Usagi _did_ kill Seiya.  She did it before she died, but what we didn't know was that she was secretly in connection with space aliens.  Usagi had promised the king of the space aliens, who had coincidently fallen in love with her, the body of a strong able human male.  Once Seiya was dead the alien king lived on in his body to join her on Earth undetected.  When Usagi committed suicide, the alien king had no reason to be here on Earth and vacated Seiya's body leaving it in the condition that we found it a few days ago."  There was a light smirk playing on his lips.

The sadistic smile that Yaten presented to Minako scared her.  It puzzled her how he could talk about their deaths so freely, not even finding anything wrong with the fact that he was all but joking about it now.  

"So, what do you think? I think I've solved the case!"  He did a mock cheer for himself.

"I think you're nuts if you believe half the crap that's written in there."  Minako snorted closing her book.  "Why don't you take a break?"

Yaten slumped in his chair, his form was rumpled and dejected.  A shower would do him wonders.  "It's either aliens, black magik, trolls, hard candy or I'M crazy.  I'd like to believe that it's not me though."  He smiled lightly after mumbling the last part.

"I don't think you're crazy."  Minako said coming up behind Yaten and massaging his shoulders.  "No one has a gift like you do, whose to say that it is right all of the time?"

"Can you imagine if it wasn't? Can you even think of all the people I might have put away and sent to their deaths because the little picture in my head was wrong?"

"Is that what has been on your mind?"  Minako asked wrapping her arms around the strong shoulders of the man before her.  As her cheek pressed up against Yaten's she felt his head nod in a yes.

"But what if I was wrong?"

"You weren't wrong those other times.  The police found evidence to convict those criminals, you simply got them going in the right direction.  If they were innocent, it wasn't your fault if they were convicted."  She kissed his cheek lightly.  "I am curious about the hard candy theory though."  She tried to lighten the mood as she shuffled a couple of his papers.

Yaten let out a slight chuckle as he pulled her onto his lap.  "Usagi used to eat a lot of hard candy, by taking in all of those preservatives, she could have _looked_ dead and come back later to kill Seiya."

"Are you serious?"

"What do you think?"  Yaten gave her a skeptical look before kissing her lightly on her lips.  "If hard candy was the answer to longevity, you my dear will live forever."  He kissed her again, trying to escape for a moment.  Their moment was short lived however when Minako's arm knocked a small book from the table.

Yaten looked down to see what had fallen to the ground and a small book decorated with bunnies and moons faced him from the floor.  It was Usagi's diary that Seiya had given Yaten to read before he died.  Intrigued by his new discovery, all thoughts of Minako were lost.  He pushed Minako from his lap to bend over and pick up the journal.

"What is it?"  Minako asked trying to sneak a peak over his shoulder.

Yaten waved her away saying 'nothing' and leaving it at that.  That was it, Minako couldn't take this anymore and stood up quickly.  Cursing a guttural sound, Minako fumed her rage as she looked at Yaten completely consumed by another book.  "I have to get out of here for a while."  She grabbed her coat and keys.  "Maybe you'll be ready to pay attention to me when I get back."  She said before slamming the door.

Yaten had made no motion to stop her from leaving and was still staring absently at the small object in his hands.  Opening it at a random spot, he began to read…

_July 30 _

_Today was Seiya's birthday. ^_^ I think he thought I had forgotten, just as he thinks every year, so he was surprised when I showed up at his door with a birthday cake, I baked, in my hands.  He opened the door wearing only a pair of pants and I nearly dropped the cake! _

_When I regained my composure I walked in and we sat down to have cake.  Seiya's so sweet, he's the only other person I know that would sit down and eat cake with me that early in the morning. Wait, come to think of it, he's the only person that would eat something I made! He told me I had frosting on my nose, but I really didn't, he just used that as an excuse to put some there! Not to be outdone, I grabbed a handful of frosting and shoved it right in his face.  Pretty soon an all out cake war had ensued but when we were all out of cake, I found myself in my favorite place to be… In Seiya's arms! ^_^ _

_Calming down he told me I had a piece of cake on my face.  I knew I had cake all over my face but still answered him with the sarcastic answer of 'where'?  Then he kissed me, licking the frosting off of my lips…_

Yaten quickly slammed the book shut, anger coursing through his veins.  Seiya was kissing Usagi?  In Seiya's arms was Usagi's favorite place to be?  For some sadistic purpose he reopened the diary to read on and torture himself more.

_October 12 _

_Already the air is getting colder, but I'm so lucky to have so many great friends to keep me warm! ^_^ Today we went out to lunch to celebrate the good news of our friends Ami and Taiki.  They're having a baby! YEAY! Oh I couldn't even imagine having a baby right now.  I've talked to Seiya about it…._

Forcefully turning the page he moved past that image.

_October 20 _

_Have I told you lately how nice my friends are? Today I hung out with my friend Yaten, Seiya had work to do and I wouldn't let him skip out on it to hang out with me (although I wish I hadn't stopped him ^_^) Anyway, do you know the type of person that doesn't open to anyone often? Of course you don't, you're a book, but Yaten is that kind of person.  Today he told me about his childhood. Now this was weird since I never pictured Yaten being a kid, he's always so serious, but then again he has to be, ne? He is a detective after all, and with a gift like the one he has I think of him as an angel. It felt really great to hear these words from Yaten and to know that I was one of the very select few that ever would hear them.  It made me feel special._

A small smile appeared on Yaten's face after reading that.  Somehow all of the things about Seiya and Usagi had been pushed to the back of his mind, she thought he was an angel?  His own tenshi thought of him the same way?  Yaten skipped ahead towards the end of the diary, to the day she died.

_May 29_

_You're never going to guess what happened to me! ^_^Seiya finally proposed to me! We're getting married! Can you believe it? How does this sound? Usagi Kou? Mrs. Seiya Kou? I'm so genki right now!!_

In one swift motion Yaten launched the petit book from his hands across the room.  Seiya and Usagi were in love?  They had gotten engaged the day she died?  Why hadn't he seen it?  Why hadn't he seen what was going on between the two of them?  Images came back to Yaten, memories of the times he had spent with Seiya and Usagi.  Suddenly the small details, the ones he had cared to over-look before, suddenly became blatantly obvious.

"I just didn't want to see it…"  His head hung low as the truth of the matter settled in.  "I loved her so much that I myself didn't let my eyes see she loved someone else."

"Yaten, I'm back!"  Minako's voice called from the doorway.  The silver-haired man hurried to stash the book away, allowing it to mingle in with the other various books he had collected.  When Minako turned the corner she noticed the moisture that lingered on his face.  Was he crying?  "Yaten?"  

His mind had lied to him, his heart didn't allow him to see what was really going on.  Now not only was he confused about the deaths of his best friend, but now this only added to the mess.  In the confusion of his mind he was suddenly shocked when Minako's arms were wrapped around him tightly.  She had only recently seen him cry, and to find him like this now?  There was something wrong, but she would be there to see him through it.

"I'm sorry I yelled."  Minako said lightly, holding Yaten a little tighter.  Yaten didn't respond and Minako assumed that he might be embarrassed, it wasn't like him to show these kind of emotions and she was sure that he hadn't meant for her to see this.  "I'll make us something to eat, why don't you go take a shower."


	8. Part VIII The Joy of all Sorrows

How Far…?

Part VIII

Minako was right, the shower had done him wonders.  His body felt refreshed, as did his mind.  Though the thoughts he had been thinking before did not leave him, he felt he had more energy to put into them now.  The scent of a delicious meal came wafting to his senses and he spotted Minako playing 'the happy little woman' across the room in the kitchenette.  "Smells good."  He complimented while drying his hair with a towel.

Minako looked up and smiled at him.  "You look better."

"I can't believe you thought I looked bad in the first place."  He commented sarcastically with a lopsided grin.

The blond merely rolled her eyes in response and set two plates out on the counter.  As she was busying herself preparing the meal, putting the final touches on it, she noticed Yaten searching through the pile of books he had left on the table.  "Leave them."  She warned, her smile twisting into a scowl.

"Don't worry, I just need to find one."  He called just before his hands came upon the girlish diary he had cast aside earlier.  Shoving it in his pocket he walked over to where his dinner awaited him.

Her displeasure let up slightly when she realized that she was indeed getting through to Yaten.  Sympathetically she decided to question him about his proceedings, hoping that she could share a piece of him with his madness.  "So… did you find anything interesting while I was gone?"

"You could say that."  He muttered as he took yet another bit of his meal.  He wasn't too keen on talking to Minako about his discovery, for all he knew, she had known of Seiya and Usagi's relationship the entire time and he didn't want to display his ignorance or perhaps his lust for Usagi.  He was sure though that she had no idea of his feelings for the bubbly blond though, hell Usagi herself didn't even know.

"You say that casually."  She smirked, semi pleased that he wasn't quite as prone to talk about it now.

"Because it's nothing."  He answered quickly, trying to snuff her questions.

Minako was put off a bit by his frank answer and didn't dare to venture, furthering with the path she was going down.  Yaten looked at her and felt a pang of guilt.  Here he was, spending time with Minako, if you could even call it that, and all he could think about was Usagi… his dead love.  What was wrong with him?  Minako had given him everything he wanted, she was there for him, she helped him, she… no could she love him?

"Are you staying here again tonight?"  Yaten asked, a little unsure of her response.

By now Minako had finished her meal and pushed her plate aside.  "I will if you want me to."

"What I'm asking is if you _want_ to stay here.  I don't want you to do things and pity me because you think I need that, I want you to do things because you want to."  He hadn't looked at her, instead his eyes had flicked over to the television and the evening news.

Minako continued to stare at him, eyes full adoration.  "Yaten…"  She started, her plate in her hands getting ready to go to the sink.  "I stay here because I want to be with you."

He brought his head back to look at her.  There it was… she did love him… that look in her eyes was unmistakable.

"I feel so alone now…"  Her emotions started to brim as she continued to look upon the silver-haired man.  "There's just so much pain now that they're gone."  Her hands trembled, threatening to drop the plate she held.  "But thank god that I still have you, because without you, Yaten, I don't know how I could have endured it."

Yaten rose from his seat and took the objects from Minako's hands before wrapping her in a warm embrace.  "Shhh…"  He whispered to her, he didn't want to see her cry.  Seeing Minako cry would remind him of the turmoil and pain he felt deep inside.  He had pushed all of his feelings, save one, revenge, deep down inside.  Endlessly searching for the key, the answer to this enigma, he had tried to forget the aching grief that haunted him now that they were both gone.

The tiredness showed through her face, Minako had pushed herself too far.  Every night she tried to stay awake, to keep Yaten company if he needed her, but it was finally taking its toll on her and she needed rest.  "Let's get you to bed."  Yaten coaxed her over to his bed and laid her down.  "Get some sleep Minako.  Time can cure anything, ne?"

'Time can cure anything' Ha! Did he truly believe that?  He was in a sense asking her to forget about them, to move on without them and their memories.  It was impossible though.  He was sure that for Minako in time the pain would diminish, and become bearable, but for him that would never happen.  He could never forget Usagi, he would never LET himself forget Usagi.  Everyday he would make himself feel that pain, to remind him of the love he had felt for her.  Such an emotion is love and to be reminded of it by enduring so much pain, well it was sheer irony.

~@~@~@~

Work meant nothing to Yaten any more and he hadn't been in a week now.  To please Minako he had laid off the books and computer but still kept the small diary in his pocket.  He had read it nearly fifty times by now, the relationship between Seiya and Usagi still came as a soreness each time, but he continued to go over it.

He awoke one morning, or was it afternoon? He couldn't tell, he hadn't remembered going to sleep.  Looking down, Yaten saw that he was dressed in only his underwear.  Not caring too much about his clothing, the first thing on his mind was the diary.  Where had it gone?  In a mad dash he was up and out of bed, searching around his apartment.  There were no stray clothes strewn about and this puzzled him further.

"What are you doing spaz?"  Minako asked standing by the door with a laundry basket in her hands.  She had the pleasure of walking in the room to find Yaten running around like a wild man in only his skippies!

"My pants, where are my pants?"  He asked frantically taking the basket from her hands.

"Calm down, I washed them.  You'd been wearing them for the past three days, they were ready to stand and walk on their own."  Minako commented, holding her nose for effect.

His hands searched through the neatly folded laundry but there were no signs of the diary.  "Where is it?"

"Where is what?"  Minako walked to the fridge to get a drink, not really thinking too much of Yaten's question.

Yaten groaned loudly in frustration.  "Where is my book?!" Minako didn't answer but leaned back on the counter taking a long sip of her beverage.  Yaten looked at her curiously.  Why wasn't she helping him?  "Minako what did you do with it?"  He accused her.

"You don't need another book."  She answered coolly.

"What did you do with the dairy?"  Yaten growled at her this time, seeing fully that she knew what was going on.  "Where is it Minako?"

Pulling the book from her back pocket she held it up before her.  "Do you mean this?"  She asked innocently.

Yaten moved towards her in an attempt to come closer to the diary that he sought.  "Give it to me."

"I see you finally figured it out, ne?"  Minako asked, her eyes seemed to be searching his face for something.  "The new anger and passion in your eyes, yes, you did!"  She cheered.  "You finally saw what was between Seiya and Usagi, their love."

"Give me the book Minako."  He stated more collectedly this time, trying to end this discussion now.

"No."  She said with a stone face.  "You need to forget about them… about her."

"Minako give me back the book."

"Forget her."  Minako stared straight into Yaten's eyes, both of them equally pissed by now.  "Forget her Yaten."

"Shut up! I can't forget her!  I love her and that goddamn book is all that I have left of her!"  His cry echoed through the single apartment as he realized what he said.

"I know you do."  The hand that held the book dropped down to her side as a sadness covered her face.  "I always knew you loved her, it was so obvious to anyone that cared to pay attention.  I cared enough, I saw it."

"Minako I…"  Yaten tried to come closer to her, now no longer concerned with the diary in her hands.

"I wished that you looked at me that way.  I wanted to feel that love from you, the love I saw that you held for her."  Her head came up, the tears streaming down her face glistened in the afternoon sun.  A small smile made its way to her lips.  "It's plain to see that you'll never love anyone the way you loved her."

It was true, and he knew it.  He did love Minako, but she would always be second in his heart and mind.

"I thought that once I got rid of her you would see only me, oh how far I would have gone to get to you."

"Nani?!"  Yaten asked shocked at what she had just uttered.

  
Minako tried to reach her hand out to Yaten but he quickly moved away.  "I did it for us."

"You killed Usagi?"  Yaten asked a disgusted look planted on his face.  

"She was blinding you!"  Minako came to her own defense.  "You didn't see what was going on, you didn't know that you loved that devil."

"What are you talking about?  Usagi wasn't a devil, she was a beautiful tenshi."  He was not about to let her bad mouth Usagi now.

"NO!"  Minako screamed.  "She was a devil, a vicious temptress who wanted more than she was allowed.  She had Seiya, but that wasn't good enough, she had to ensnare your heart too!"

"Minako, my god, listen to yourself!"

"I went to her house, do you remember that day?  I went to Usagi's apartment after she phoned me telling me the news of her and Seiya's engagement.  I wore my hair in those ridiculous buns that she seemed so fond of."

The images that Yaten had seen in Usagi's mind started to come back to him once again bringing their painful taunts.  They moved by so quickly, flashing before his mind's eye, but one thing was unmistakable, her smile.  That wasn't Usagi's smile… Yaten looked over to Minako, holding the sides of his head as the images all but blinded him, and he saw that same sick smile plastered on her lips.

"She didn't beg, she didn't cry… she had never seen it coming."  Minako's smile grew.  Slowly her hands came up to situate her hair on top of her head into to perfectly round odangos.  "Are you happy that it was painless… well nearly."

"Y-you killed her?"  His mind was still clouded by the flashing images, it was all happening so fast.

"Yes, and knowing you, I knew you would find a way to look upon her soul so I disguised myself as her when I did it."  She seemed all too proud of herself and somehow cocky at the same time.  "That's why I accompanied you to see her and Seiya's bodies."

"Seiya too?"  Yaten's eyes were wide, his vision blurred by the tears the images in his head were bringing to his eyes.  He tried to focus on Minako, who was beginning to resemble Usagi so much, her hair, and the tears, they fogged his vision to make him see a tenshi before him.

"Seiya was getting too close with his theories and suspicions.  I must say I was relieved when you pushed him away and wouldn't listen to his ideas, because between the two of you I'm sure you would have gotten it."  She laughed a bit at the situation and how wonderfully her plot had played out.

"M-minako…"

"But now it's time for all good things to come to an end."  

Her voice reached his ears, and then he heard her cock the gun in her hand.  The cold steel pressed up against the side of his head.  "U-usagi…"  He whispered as he looked at the blurred image of the tenshi in front of him.  Firm lips were soon pressed upon his own displaying madness and passion.

"If I can't have your heart…"  Her voice broke off as tears came to her eyes.

His blind fury broke and gave way to the peace and serenity that he felt whilst being near this lovely being.  All of the anger her felt towards Minako, the simple act of revenge that he wanted to take all flowed to the back of his mind.  "Do it."  He spoke, no anger in his voice.  His self-pity had taken over and broken his spirit.  "I don't want to live with this pain any longer." 

Yaten felt the barrel of the gun dig deeper into the side of his head as he continued to stare at the woman before him with bright, wide eyes full of amazement.  To his surprise he heard the soft weeping around him.  Within a moment, the form of the woman before him dropped down to her knees, weeping more.  "Shhh…"  Yaten tried to condole her.

Without thinking any more of what he was doing, he felt his face draw nearer to hers.  Her blue eyes were barely in focus as he closed his own, knowing her face for all eternity as he placed a light kiss on her lips.  The tenshi before him responded and he felt loved for the first time in his life… before everything went black.

~@~@~@~

-Yaten Kou, male, 24, gunshot wound to the head.  Victim pronounced dead at scene, murder weapon secured.

-Minako Aino, female, 23, gunshot wound to the head.  Victim pronounced dead at scene, murder weapon secured.

=Authorities are baffled by the murder-suicide that took place in the quiet district of Juuban earlier this afternoon.  Police Detective, Yaten Kou, a man praised for his extraordinary gifts was found dead in his apartment this afternoon.  A gunshot wound to the head was self-inflicted, but this suicide also took the life of Minako Aino, long time friend of Kou's.  The reason is still unknown, but from what the police could piece together the two were embracing before their death, Mr Kou pulled the trigger releasing the bullet through his skull and exiting to puncture a wound in Ms Aino's skull.= The television was added noise in the background as Taiki walked through the room.  A small diary caught his eye…

Uh… did you guys like the ending? Yup that's it, that's the end.  I was going to have Yaten live after killing Minako and live with Taiki and Ami… but I thought this was a nicer way out.  Hey don't look at me like that! I have to pawn all of my stories that have 'bad' endings off on Yaten or Taiki… we don't want to see Seiya suffer now do we? No, I thought not!


End file.
